Finally Freed
by CabinSixGirl
Summary: In the world of Minecraft, Eric lives in a town surrounded by a wall. He tries to escape, only to be imprisoned. Finally, a strange man with white eyes comes and saves him, showing Eric the world and how to survive. He is finally free. (Sorry, I stink at summaries!) Rated T just in case. Occasional swearing and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! This is a story idea I had. I hope you enjoy it! Disclaimer- I do not own Minecraft or Herobrine, but I did make up Eric, the main character.**

Chapter One

All I see now is not very much. I see stone bricks, mossy and cracked in places, surrounding me. I see iron bars in front of me. Behind the iron bars is a hallway, where guards pace, their dull footsteps echoing around them. Inside, there is a bed with a spotless white pillow and bright red blanket. I also see a paper cup full of water and bread, which is handed to me through the bars every day at noon and six. Everything I see, I see in the flickering light from torches. I am constantly hungry. The bread only fills up a small amount of the aching in my stomach. I've learned that, if you just sit on your bed and don't move, you don't get as hungry.

I have memories of things besides these, though. I have memories of a blue sky and square sun, like a painting high above our small town. We all looked the same in that town, wearing a blue t-shirt and jeans. There was day, and we farmed and ate and were happy. Then the sun set somewhere where we could not see, and darkness fell. We all would climb in our beds and sleep. But I also remember a black wall surrounding us. The wall would not break; no matter how hard you hit it or how long you did. I wanted to get out of those walls and see what was on the other side. I wondered why there had to be a wall separating us from the world. So, one night, I dug a hole in the ground, and dug forward. I only went a little bit. Then I dug upwards, and climbed out, right in front of a guard. He wore light blue clothing and held a light blue sword, but his face was like mine.

The man and I departed in the morning. We walked for miles. I was hungry and my feet hurt. But I was so happy. I was finally in the outside world. I saw trees and water, and tall mountains reaching for the square sun. I saw animals grazing and shuffling around, occasionally crying out with a moo or other noise. Even though I was handcuffed, being dragged to an unknown place, I felt free of daily boredom.

Finally, we reached a small hut just as the sun was setting. The guard in blue pushed me in and closed the door behind us. There was a hatch in the ground, which was heaved open with a loud creak. A ladder descended down into the ground; so far I could not see the bottom. I began climbing down, hand below hand and foot below foot. The man constantly yelled at me to hurry up. By the time we reached the bottom, I was exhausted. Little did I know I would be resting for a long time. He escorted me down a long hallway and pushed me into the cell I am in now. I accepted my fate with dignity, unlike a few others who were dragged in front of my cell.

But soon, everything would change. I would be freed by a man with a strange name. He would look mostly like me, except for his eyes. He was my savior and friend for a long time, until something happened. His name was Herobrine.

**Hope you like it! Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, here's the second chapter. It's short, but I didn't know what else to put in. Disclaimer: I don't own Herobrine or Minecraft. I do own Eric, Ella10, Michael, Zachary_Zelder, and all the other names mentioned. I came up with them and they are my original characters. If I used your name or username, I apologize. I didn't do that on purpose. Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter Two

I had just sat up in bed when I realized something was wrong. There were screams and shouts, and footsteps pounding hard all around me. I jumped up and ran to the iron bars. A man ran past, in shimmering blue armor. His shining blue sword was in his hand, swinging wildly in front of him. I heard a cry and a thud, and the man turned around. He stepped right in front of me. He looked mostly like me- brown hair, blue shirt and jeans under his armor, but his eyes were pure white. He stared at me, and his stare sent shivers up my spine. I could tell he was seeing what kind of person I was.

Finally, he looked down and began hacking at the bars. I was about to tell him that it was no use, but they broke. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out.

"Who are you?" I demanded. "What's going on?"

"No time for answers," he grunted. "Get back to the adder and climb up. I'll be up soon."

I finally understood- this strange man was freeing us. It was a jail break. I ran past bodies on the ground. The corpses slowly faded into nonexistence, but the blood spattered on the ground did not. By the time I reached the end of the hallway, my shoes were full of blood and I had seen more death than I ever wanted to see again. I began climbing as fast as I could, in case there were guards behind me.

When I reached the top, I pushed on the trapdoor until it creaked open, and hauled myself onto the floor of the hut. A small group of people who could easily be my clones were already there. None of them looked very much like criminals, but most of them looked tired and worn down. They all had name plates above their heads. Names jumped out at me. Patrick. Ella10. Samuel_P. One person, named Michael, had a huge gash on his chest and his shirt was soaked with blood, but he was grinning like a madman.

"Hey, Michael," I said. "Are you okay? That cut looks pretty bad."

He glanced up at me and read my name. "I'm fine, Eric_. Mr. Creepy Eyes said it'll heal quickly."

"Just call me Eric, please."

Sure enough, as I watched, the wound faded and the blood vanished. The pain in his face seeped away and he stood straighter. The last person came through, Zachary_Zelder, followed closely by "Mr. Creepy Eyes".

Instantly, everyone began calling out to him questions like, what's your name, what's happening, where we are going. I stayed silent. The man radiated a sort of natural power, and it was really disturbing. He looked at all of us though squinted eyes, holding a hand up for silence. His eyes rested on me before moving on.

"Okay, everyone. Here's the deal. All of you have been locked up for trying to escape, right?" The group nodded, except for Ella10. "Sir," she said. "I was actually arrested for-"

"I know what you were arrested for," he interrupted. "We'll talk later. But basically, you've been locked up because you're following your natural reflexes. Everyone was created to explore and fight and, eventually, die. You're the ones brave enough to attempt that. I'm here to help. So, kiddos, follow me and stick close by if you don't want to die."

"What's your name?" I called out, before I could stop myself.

"My name's a dangerous name," he muttered. "But I'll tell you. My name is Herobrine."

And, with that, we exited the hut and walked out into the pitch black night.

**Okay, if you like it so far, please review! If you didn't, I'm open to constructive criticism. If you just like reviewing, please review! All comments, favorites, etc. are appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, here's chapter three. Disclaimer: I don not own Minecraft or Herobrine, but I do own most of the characters and my idea of what Herobrine is like. If this is your name or username, it was unintentional. Enjoy!**

Chapter Three

It wasn't long before we were attacked. Moaning zombies shuffled around, hitting us and roaring when Herobrine stabbed them. Spiders cried and scuttled on eight legs, their red eyes gleaming in the darkness. Skeletons stood at a distance, shooting us full of arrows like needles in pincushions, until Herobrine pulled out a bow and killed them. I winced as I yanked an arrow out of my shoulder. Blood began seeping in my shirt and I felt dizzy. I had never seen my own blood before.

"Damn monsters," Michael grumbled when a skeleton shot him in the back.

Once we saw a green and white speckled thing, creeping around. Herobrine nocked an arrow and killed it in one shot. It fell with a hiss and vanished, leaving behind glowing orbs. No one dared to approach them.

"What were those?" I whispered to Michael. He simply shrugged.

Even though we were constantly attacked in in more than a little pain, we trudged on. No one suggested an alternative or questioned Herobrine. We were all too terrified. For a minute, I wished I could be back in tiny cell, counting and recounting the number of gray bricks on the walls. But the idea seemed silly after a few seconds. That prison didn't exist anymore. I had just been granted freedom and I already was wishing that he had left me behind.

"Hey, Herobrine," Patrick yelled. "I'm hungry. Got any food?"

Herobrine paused and I sighed with relief as my feet got a rest. "Yes. But it's mine, so suck it up kid."

Patrick took a step forward. "Really? You're going to just let me starve to death?"

"No, I'm going to teach you how to get your own food." Herobrine's voice was calm.

"Well, I'm hungry! What if I just took it from you?" Patrick snapped.

"I'd like to see you try." Patrick immediately lunged towards him, snarling. Herobrine casually stuck the sword through him and drew it out. Then he wiped the blood off the blue blade and resumed walking. I felt sick as I passed Patrick's body. He wasn't moving, and red was dripping to the grassy ground. He finally disappeared, but the image stayed in my head. I would never forget what it was like to watch someone die.

On the bright side, the world was beautiful. The sun was rising and the zombies and skeletons caught on fire, apparently vulnerable to sunlight. I gazed up at the square sun and breathed in the fresh air. We were walking through plains, and sheep grazed around us. They were white, and looked up at us as we walked by.

Herobrine stopped when we reached a pond. He gave us each a bottle and told us to fill it up with water from the pond. We were all grateful to drink, and drank until we were finally satisfied. I had never felt this good in forever. But we were still hungry. Herobrine examined us, and pulled some meat out of the pack on his back. Everyone got a piece, and it was delicious. I made a mental note that meat was more filling than bread.

"Okay, kids. What you all just ate is called food. You need it to survive. I'll eventually teach you how to get it yourself."

A girl named Sarah77 spoke up. Her name made me wonder if there were 76 other Sarah's, or if she had just been given that name. "Of course you need food to survive. Isn't that obvious? You would die without food!"

"Exactly," Herobrine said. "This is why you all will stay with me. Without me, you're hopeless. You'll die."

None of us bothered to argue with that. It was something that everyone knew, that you need food. And if this guy had some, I wanted to stick with him. Even if he put swords in people.

I wasn't sure if anyone else noticed, since no one dared to talk, but the sun had begun to sink in the sky. I was exhausted and in desperate need of sleep. I was also scared, since night was when monsters attacked us. I didn't know why, but that was what happened. Before I could express my concern, though, we came to a hill. It seemed like an ordinary hill, except for the fact that a door was in the side of it. Torches burned around the door, sending poofs of smoke into the sky. Herobrine opened the door and gestured for us to follow him inside. My stomach was fluttering at the thought of another night, so I gladly came in.

It seemed to be Herobrine's house. There was some sort of table on top of a wooden floor. The walls were red brick. It was cozy, but still spacious. Golden blocks lit up the space. Ovens that I recognized from home were scattered around, all empty. In the corner was a trapdoor. I knew what was underneath before I even went over there. I could see a ladder stretch down, but not nearly as far as the one leading to the prison. We all stood around in a clump, taking in our surroundings, until Herobrine saw what I was looking at. "Go ahead down. We'll follow." His voice was gruff.

I hesitated. I didn't know why. Maybe it was because I saw him kill people and monsters effortlessly. Maybe it was his unnerving white eyes. For whatever reason, I held back.

"You can trust me," he said, his voice softer. "I promise."

All of my caution went out the window. I pulled the hatch open and climbed down the ladder. I gasped at what I saw.

The walls were brown- darker than dirt, but not as dark as the black walls fencing my village in. The room was more like a cavern, with tons of nooks in the back wall full of beds. The floor was a pale wood, and the ceilings reached up at least ten blocks, full of bright red-and-black blocks. A black table with a book on top sat in the middle, surrounded by things I could only describe as stands for holding cups. Chests covered the walls, some labeled and others not. But the coolest things were the frames. Every open space was covered with a picture frame, showing glittering bows and swords and armors, or colorful gems. Some had orange saddles and others had white stars. A few even had black skulls. I approached one with a sword like Herobrine's and touched it, feeling the sword. Suddenly, the frame fell off the wall and the sword came out of the frame. I jumped to pick them up as Herobrine came down the ladder, followed by an amazed crowd.

"I'm so sorry, I just touched it and," I stammered uselessly, holding the sword.

"It's fine," he replied. "You can keep that sword. Just put the frame back up on the wall."

I stuck the frame back up and examined the sword. On the blade were words etched in: _Fire Aspect III, Sharpness II, Smite I, Bane of Arthropods II, Looting III._ "What does this mean?" I asked. But Herobrine had turned away, assigning beds to people. I was the last. I got the top right one. Beside each bed was an item frame, so I carefully placed my new weapon in it. Herobrine opened the door in the wall, saying behind him, "Get a good night's sleep, everyone. Tomorrow we start training."

I thought it would take me forever to get to sleep, but I dozed off quickly, waking up the next morning after nightmares of Patrick's body collapsed on the ground.

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys! Sorry that it took me so long to post this, I got a bit of writer's block and my life has been too hectic to sit down and work through it, but I finally found time, so here it is! Disclaimer: I do not own Minecraft or Herobrine, but I have made up all of the characters and Herobrine's personality myself. If you share a name or username with any of these characters, it was not intentional. Please tell me what you think by giving me a review! Thank you to the two awesome people who have already given me one, I officially love you and want to thank you for taking the time to do so. **

Chapter Four

The next morning, Herobrine woke us all up early, just as the sun was rising. We all climbed out of our beds and gathered in a cluster around Herobrine.

"As of today, training starts," he declared.

"Training for what?" Ella10 asked. Herobrine glared at her, and then slowly answered. "Training you how to survive, of course. Teaching you how to fend for yourselves. Now, I want you all to listen very closely. If anyone disagrees with me, there is nothing keeping you here. Feel free to leave at any time. Also, most of you will reach a point where you've learned enough to start your own lives. I will dismiss you with a bit of stuff to help you get started. Only a few will complete the entire training and become true masters. The rest will have to figure out how to themselves. Any questions?" He made eye contact with each of us in turn. No one spoke. "Good. Follow me upstairs. We'll eat breakfast, then I'll start with the very beginning."

It turned out that the very beginning was locating trees and punching them until a square bit of log was dislodged and we could gather it. We all cut down a few trees, until we had a decent amount of wood. Herobrine watched us carefully. Then he showed us how to turn the logs into planks. Crafting, he called it. I examined the planks closely, realizing that mine were the exact same color as those that made up the basement floor. The block was smooth and surprisingly light.

The problem was, after you cut down a tree, the bold green leaves started to decay and disappear. Herobrine had told us not to touch the leaves, but there was nothing we could do as they slowly vanished. Strange little baby tree-like-things fell from a few clumps of leaves, and as I picked them up, something inside my head told me that it was a birch sapling. It was meant to regrow the tree I had just chopped (punched, to be more specific) down, so I placed it on the sunbaked grass.

"Each small sapling grows into a tree just as large as it came from," a soft voice murmured behind me. "Sometimes even larger. Amazing, huh?" I whirled around and nearly jumped at the sight of Herobrine behind me, now gazing fondly down at the little sapling. The back of my neck tingled and I knew he would kick me out for placing something down when he told us to leave it alone, but instead he handed me a white blob.

"Gather 'round, gather 'round, everyone," he called. All his students obediently formed a sort of ring around us. "That there in front of Eric is a sapling. Sometimes, when the leaves decay, you can get these little things. Simply plant them in the ground and they will eventually grow up into a full-sized tree. Normally, that would take a while, but with this white thing in his hand, it will grow a lot quicker. This is called bone meal. It is made from bones, a spoil of war from skeletons, and can be used as a fertilizer for just about all plants. Eric will simply put a tad on the sapling until it shoots up."

All eyes were on me as I carefully placed bit after bit on the sapling. Nothing happened, and the bone meal chunk was steadily running out. I was just about to give up and tell Herobrine that it wasn't working when,_ boom._ A tall white tree with dark leaves shot up so quickly I jumped back and knocked right into Michael. The group gasped at the miracle.

"Sorry," I apologized quickly to Michael. "It surprised me."

"No problem," he replied with a maniac grin similar to the one on his face when I first saw him. "Maybe Mr. Creepy Eyes isn't as bad as I thought, huh. He really seems to get it, to get all of this."

"Yah," I agreed, slightly absentmindedly. For it was at that precise moment that Herobrine and I made eye contact when I felt this feeling deep down inside. He could read me like a book, but yet I couldn't get him. It was at that second, though, that I realized something about him. He had let me off the hook twice now. Something in his white eyes flashed, and I knew that, no matter how many times he had seen that tree magically grow, he still found it as awe-inspiring as all of us. And that was exactly what he'd do to us- give us bit by bit of fertilizer until he either gave up and let us flourish on our own, or keep at it just so he could see that incredible moment when we finally grew up into something larger than ourselves.

The rest of the day passed by quickly. Herobrine showed us more about wood, including making a crafting table out of it that used something he called crafting glue. We could put materials, such as wood, on the table, use some crafting glue, and make it transform into something more powerful than what it was before. By the end of the day, we all had been given sturdy backpacks, which we loaded up with freshly crafted wooden tools and a few scattered sticks.

"You all have done well," Herobrine grunted, herding us back inside as the sun set. "Help yourself to some food and keep in mind that tomorrow we will progress to working with stone, a slightly more difficult resource, so rest well."

Food was evenly distributed to everyone and we all gobbled it down after a hard day. But I knew that, no matter how fatigued I was, I wouldn't be able to sleep until I confirmed a suspicion. That was why I found myself alone with Herobrine in the foyer while the rest of the escaped prisoners were getting into bed.

"Herobrine?" I said quietly, not wanting to disturb him as he looked through numerous chests, picking things up and putting him back. "I was wondering why I didn't get in trouble. You told us not to touch anything but the wood, yet I planted a sapling. Why?"

Herobrine continued to rifle in the chests until he finally paused and faced me. "You all are like saplings. I once was one myself, and a slow grower at that. I had to wait for the time to come to grow. Now, I finally have the magical bone meal to help you all sprout. Just knowing how to do things and obeying orders is bone meal enough for a lot of them. It's different for you, though. You have to learn yourself and experience things firsthand to develop, so I simply put the nourishment in your hands, quite literally, and let you place a bit in you. Now, go downstairs and get in that bed right now, or I'll make you spend the night up here." As he said that, though, he was smiling, and I knew he didn't mean it. That didn't stop me from crawling into bed, though, for I was tired and needed my sleep. The next day would be just as exhausting and I wouldn't be able to get through it if I stayed up all night, so it was just a few minutes later that I found myself fast asleep in the bright red bed, my own glittering blue sword hanging in a frame right beside me- proof of what Herobrine had just told me.

Even now, years later, I still remember those words. Those were words of truth, and I fought long and hard to ensure that. And he was right. Just doing exactly as I was told wasn't good enough for me. I had to do it myself. And so that was what I did, for the rest of my time spent with Herobrine.

**All right, there it was. I'll try to get the next chapter up quickly, if possible, which might be a while since I am an obsessive Minecraft player (which is why I am writing this) and also have an incredibly busy life right now. But I mean, who doesn't? :D PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**As I promised! Here is chapter five. Please review and let me know if you have any ideas on how to improve or what I should do with this story. I already have a basic plotline figured out, but I'm open to suggestions! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft or Herobrine. I have created Eric and Herobrine's personality. If any character has your name or username, it was unintentional. Same as usual.**

Chapter Five

Life began to get a routine to it. Six days a week we worked hard to learn whatever Herobrine was teaching us, no matter if it was farming or mining or crafting or building. On the seventh day, Herobrine would dismiss anyone he thought could survive in the outside world for a decent amount of time (and thus encouraging whoever was left to work harder without even saying a word to us).

Something else happened as days stretched into weeks. It was subtle at first, but we all began to change, to look different. Our eyes changed colors and shapes, our hair grew out or stayed the same length, our skin and hair shades paled or darkened, and our clothes became unique. Herobrine told us that it was completely normal for that to happen. We were discovering that we were our own person, and so what was transforming on the inside was displayed on the outside.

"How come only your eyes are different?" Michael asked with a frown at his significantly different appearance.

"I guess I just don't care as much what I look like, so only my eyes changed," he suggested, but I could tell even he didn't know. I was in the same situation as him, which made me feel like there was something wrong with me- the only difference was that my eyes grew slightly paler. Herobrine and I had late-night conversations about this, where he told me it was probably because I just didn't know who I was yet. I wasn't so sure. If my eyes continued to pale, I would soon resemble Herobrine, and I never wanted that to happen.

"Today, I need to make a trip," Herobrine announced as breakfast was served. Some people frowned, Ella10 jumped high in the air, and I choked on my steak until Michael pounded my back and caused me to dislodge the food from my throat. "I know I have never left since you all arrived, but I have serious business to attend to and I can't tell you quite yet what it is. Keep in mind that this is also a test. Whoever I choose to stay has to be able to work together with the others, and also have to be trustworthy." And with that, he walked out the door. We crowded around the open doorway and watched him slowly hike towards the rising sun.

"I wonder where he's going?" I wondered aloud.

"Maybe he's abandoning us," Zachery_Zelder whispered fearfully, suddenly looking as if he wanted to be anywhere but where he was.

"Don't be stupid," I told him. "He wouldn't do that to us. He might've killed one guy and let others be forced to survive on their own, but he told us himself that he's giving some of us a fighting chance."

"Maybe he's a double-agent, and sneaks out to gain information from the people who put us in jail!" Sarah77 suggested.

"What if he's leading another jailbreak?" Michael mused quietly.

"Or maybe he's our enemy and is going to get guards right now to throw us back into prison." Ella10 was the one to mention that grim thought. I glared at her, feeling betrayed to hear someone even suggest that about a man like Herobrine.

Most of the day was devoted to conversation. Once we had given up on theories of his whereabouts, we moved onto suspicions, and then recounts of life before we were locked up.

"What about you, Ella10?" Sarah77 demanded. "What was your town like?"

Ella seemed to think for a minute. There was a bit of fear and a bit of carefulness in her expression. I could tell she was choosing her words carefully. "Well, for starters, it was more like a city than a town. It was full of people. There were so many people that I never even saw the nine other Ella's, only knew they existed. There was a council called the Council of Steve. They were vicious. Some people who tried to escape or openly argued against their rulings would usually be murdered in front of everyone. I tried to escape anyway. There was only one problem, though. The only way out was through a doorway in the council's palace. The black, unbreakable walls went down further than I could dig, so the doors were my only option. I snuck inside, but the council tried to kill me when they saw me, and it was either me or them, so… they're all dead. I was one of the people who took advantage of the chaos when everyone found out they had been killed, unlike some of us who were slain while trying to fight the guards. We were all rounded up and locked up, right after I found out that all other nine Ella's were no more."

I stared incredulously at Ella10. There was no way that an unarmed civilian could manage something like that, but even as I thought that, I knew she wasn't lying. Ella had earned my respect. The only thing I did was dig under a wall, while she had gone all ninja-mode and assassinated a whole council to try to be free. There was definitely an aura to her, though. The way she held herself, the glint in her eyes, everything suggested that she was a warrior inside, and a courageous one at that.

"You took out a ton of heavily guarded government people with your crazy fighting skills, and all I did was dig under a wall," Michael huffed. "Your escape sounds way more dramatic than mine. Even when you were first brought in, you were a lot more dramatic, trying to bite that guard's arm while he literally dragged you to your cell. That's the only reason I remember you being brought in." I was slightly surprised that Michael had actually paid enough attention to the person being brought in to know their name.

"I'm with you, mate," I sighed. "All I did was a bit of digging. I came up right underneath this guard dude. I don't know who was more scared- him or me." I grinned, recalling how clueless I had been when I had first attempted to escape. I thought that it would be empty of all people, just a blank canvas for me to settle in. I hadn't known about monsters or crafting or mining or building or anything.

As night fell, I went to bed satisfied. It felt good to finally understand a bit more about these people who were living and learning with me. I would have never guessed that Ella had killed before meeting Herobrine. I couldn't imagine being the one to end a life. I would never be able to forgive myself. Monsters didn't count- they were the ones trying to murder me, so it was just self-defense- but to actually see a fellow person die and know you were the cause of it? Images of Patrick's corpse still haunted me occasionally, but at least it hadn't been my fault.

And I spent the entire night thinking long and hard about Ella's story, until the sun finally rose again and showered the world in light.

**Please review! Thank you so much for reading this far, I seriously appreciate it. Also, thank you so, so much if you have favorite or followed this, it really means a lot to me. I write for you guys!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you so much for reviewing, favoriting, and following! I really do appreciate it.**

**Disclaimer: Same as always.**

Chapter Six

The next day, Herobrine still hadn't returned. There was a fluttering feeling in me, like I was full of wind. I didn't know why he was still gone, but I wanted to desperately.

We all seemed to make a silent agreement to not bring it up. Sarah77 and this dude with sunglasses named Hector_is_cool were having whispered conversations, stealing glances at the door. None of us knew what they were talking about, until it happened. We were all downstairs, staring longingly at all of the framed possessions when, suddenly, they were both gone. They had left us to live on their own, probably together. At least, that was what we assumed from the open hatches leading to the upper floor and cracked front door.

"Why did they leave?" we all asked. With them gone, there were only ten of us left, and I think it was making us all slightly anxious for Herobrine to come back. "Where are they going?" I knew that Sarah77 had never really liked Herobrine and constantly sneered at him when he was facing the other way, but I never thought she would leave.

"Maybe we should look for them," a quiet boy with blonde hair and bright green eyes suggested. "I mean, they could die on their own. And Herobrine might get mad at them if he hears they ditched us."

"It was their choice," a girl named Purple_Eyes with actual purple eyes piped up. "We can just tell him that. If they wanted to leave so badly, why should we stop them? Sarah was driving me crazy anyway. I for one am glad they left."

Quiet agreement bubbled up. It was true-they had both been obnoxious from day one. They were the ones who left, who went willingly. Herobrine would've probably kicked them out soon, and if I was going to, I would prefer to leave by my own means than being told to pack up and go in front of everyone. But none of that changed the fact that it was a harsh world out there, and they would need as much help as they could get. I secretly wished they hadn't left, because our numbers were already slowly dwindling.

It was two more days full of uncomfortable silence and awkward discussions before Herobrine returned. Exhaustion was carved into his face, and he sank into a chair as soon as he returned. It was in the night, but a few of us were still awake, awaiting his return with bated breath.

"The mission was a success," Herobrine grunted, greedily eating a hunk of pork. "It looked like it would be yet another fail for a while, but I got some reinforcements towards the end. A nice young lady named Alex. Orange hair. Green eyes. She ended up taking out some troops with tnt. Explosives are extremely effective, but I'd never thought about using them."

"TNT? Alex? Troops? What was the mission?" Questions flew at him quicker than a spider's leaping attacks. Before answering anything, he told Michael to go and wake up everyone downstairs. When we were all grouped around him like kids waiting for story time, he began.

"The mission was simple enough. We, as in a few other people like me, were planning an attack on an army being formed to take out anyone not inside walls. It would have been a massacre like nothing seen before- wither bosses and nether monsters and even a few zombie giants all summoned by this tyrant person named Steve, who imprisoned everyone inside the walls in the first place. Hymlok, a nice fellow who's a spy for our side, that is, the Outsiders, had heard about these plans and let us all know. We were to intercept them as they were in between the capital and a town named Goroston." A chill went down my back as I heard that word. I knew that place.

"We were to use the element of surprise and drop down on them, trying to stop them from ever reaching Goroston. It didn't work. They were super powerful, and we had just retreated to save our own asses from death when Alex swooped down and started blowing them all up with TNT. We joined in, and if I do say so myself, completely overpowered them. Now we can all sleep safely for a while. It'll be a while before Steve can summon enough hostiles to even try to stomp us out."

"Why don't you just kill Steve so you don't have to deal with his armies anymore?" Ella asked.

Herobrine looked grim. "I don't think you understand. Steve and his brother, some bloke that no one has been able to find and try to make allies with yet, are immortal. No matter how many times they're slaughtered, they're reborn again. He's finally figured out how to do that with others, too, and now all of his guards and soldiers are like that. Remember the prison guards? When they died, they seemed to fade away. Death doesn't look like that. They re-spawned. Sure, it was so far away they could never catch up with us, but they never truly died."

"So you're saying that we can never truly defeat Steve." I didn't mean to say the words aloud, but they still slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Herobirne sighed. "Not until we find Steve's immortal brother. We think he might be the only one who can kill Steve, since he's immortal too. Of course, he might not even want to help us, but…" I knew what everyone in the room, including Herobrine, was thinking. That was what we had to do. That was what Herobrine was testing us for. He wanted only the best to help him in the search for Steve's long lost brother, our only hope.

Herobrine told us that we should all try to sleep a bit before morning came, so a few minutes later, I was in my bed. I traced my fingers over the edge of my sword, feeling the weight of the diamond blade. I read the inscription to myself-_ Fire Aspect III, Sharpness II, Smite I, Bane of Arthropods II, Looting III. _The sword that Herobrine had let me keep, all because I had let my curiosity get away from me. But could I even trust him? He left us to slaughter poor mobs being forced to kill us off, and hadn't even told us what he was doing until afterwards. And the way he talked about Steve's brother made me think he knew something else about him. Maybe he knew him. Nothing would've surprised me at that moment, except for the truth. The truth, which I would eventually discover, was more shocking than anything else I had ever experienced in my entire life.

_You can trust me. I promise._ I still heard his words, echoing in my head. Those were the words that had first convinced me to let my instincts show the way. But what if he couldn't be trusted? What if he wasn't who h said he was?

Goroston. I knew that name. I was swept into a vivid memory before I realized what was going on.

_ "Justin, have you ever wanted to leave this place and just do whatever you want?" I asked one of my best friends as we munched on bread._

_Justin almost choked. "Leave Goroston? Are you insane? No way! I'd never want to leave my home, my friends, my life. You should just be glad your dad didn't hear you say that. He'd arrest you himself!" He chuckled, like it was funny, but I thought it was mean._

_ "What do you mean, arrest me?"_

_ "That's what they do to people who leave. They lock 'em up deep down, where you can never escape again. At least, that's what your old man told us. He was convinced it happened to a girl named Alex who used to live here. She somehow got out and it was reported the next day that she was in jail, and we would never see her again. But I don't think they would really do it to a kid. Say, there's your dad right there. Why don't you ask him?"_

_I did ask him, and my dad told me it was true. Alex had been a dear friend of his until they were just a little younger than I was, when she ran away and was captured. He then told me to never ask about it again, or even consider following in her footsteps. Otherwise, I could join her underground, where I'd live the rest of my life in misery and regret._

Goroston. That was where I had lived. That meant that Herobrine knew about it. Maybe I could ask him how everyone was doing, if it was still standing. I hoped it was. That was where most of my childhood had been spent. There was something else in the memory too- Alex. No two people had the same name, since they often added numbers or underscores or extra letters, so that meant that my dad had known the person who saved my savior. What a coincidence. I wished that I could see Goroston again, and save everyone form Steve. I could show them that I was alive. Dad and Justin could be worried about me, and I didn't want them to be. And maybe, I could find out more about Alex. Herobrine didn't seem to know very much about her, just that she was clever and good with explosives.

And I soon drifted off, dreaming of Goroston and wondering what would have happened if I'd never left.

**Thanks for reading this far! It really makes my day to see that people are reading my work. :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry if this chapter is shorter or sounds different from normal, I didn't get much sleep and am now very tired, but I wanted to post something anyway.**

**Disclaimer: the usual.**

Chapter Seven

It was three more days of Herobrine teaching us before he made the announcement.

"Alright, kiddos, let's wrap it up for today," he announced in a rough voice. "Gather around, I have some things to tell you."

I stuffed everything I'd been working with into my backpack and joined the group huddling around him just as he started talking.

"Today, I'll be kicking out five more people. I know that's more than usual, but I have my reasons. The remaining five will be subjected to one final test that requires all of their knowledge and skills for them to succeed. I'll explain more once they find out who they are. All of you, head downstairs now. I'll tell you if you've passed or failed down there."

My stomach was lurching as I climbed the ladder and descended down to my bed. I had been working hard, but then again, all of us had. What if I didn't make it? What if Herobrine thought I just wasn't good enough to stay on as an equal? Or what if Michael or Ella failed? The prospect of us being separated was too much to bear. We had been growing steadily closer until I felt sure we could call each other friends, but if one of us had to go…

Herobrine's white eyes seemed to flash as he stared at all of us in turn. "I've reached a decision. Zachery_Zelder, TimM, DukeBoy, Purple_Eyes, and Susie, come here." I felt a weight lift off my chest. I was safe. Michael and Ella were safe. At least for the moment.

The five people were allowed to pack up their few belongings, but they had to be out by nightfall, or monsters would swarm them and they'd have trouble fighting them off. I knew I should've been grateful that I could stay for the time being, but it was hard not to feel sympathetic as they trudged out the door, leaving behind the life we'd all been living for a long time.

"Listen up, you five," Herobrine said, and we all turned away from the group departing and focused on him. "You should get to know each other real well, because this test requires teamwork. All five of you will depart tomorrow morning, going east until you hit a river. Cross that river. Your boundaries are that forest, and you are not allowed to leave it until I come for you. You'll set out empty-handed and will have to survive in any means you can.

"Whoever is left standing can stay with me or leave. And whoever stays will be accepted into the Rebellion, that group I was fighting Steve's army with. There is a catch, though. No one person is allowed to leave the perimeter of the woods. If anyone does, they are automatically disqualified and I trust you all to tell me if anyone had left. The goal is for each of you to get a diamond. That is when you must send me a message saying that you're ready, and I'll come and fetch you. But keep in mind that whoever leaves the forest cannot continue. You'll set out at dawn."

"But that's impossible," Robert2 whispered, and I agreed. "How will you know we all got a diamond without someone travelling back to tell you?"

"That's for you to figure out," Herobrine muttered, and with that, he climbed back up the ladder and was gone.

I studied my soon-to-be teammates, knowing that one of us couldn't stay with Herobrine. There was Robert2, Ella, Michael, Maia, and I. There would be no other way to alert him without someone leaving. Or was there? I spent the entire night trying to find a loophole in the rules, but there were none. The only two ideas I could come up with would both result in the same manner, and the result was horrible to think about. Our first option would be to just live our whole lives there, but I didn't think that was what Herobrine had wanted. He wanted us to work together and use our brains.

Dawn came all too quickly. I held my sword in my hand one last time before finally getting out of bed and meeting the other four group members upstairs.

"We should probably get going now," Ella told us before adjusting her backpack on her back and shoving the door open. "I don't want to be travelling through the dark."

"But should we even go to the forest?" Maia asked. "I mean, we can just snag a few diamonds and tell Herobrine we're done. That way, none of us are disqualified."

"Mr. Creepy Eyes told us clear as day that we have to go to the woods," Michael insisted. "We'll figure everything out once we're there." Michael shot me a look, like he was daring me to disagree, before marching out the open doorway and into the brisk morning. I caught up with him, the rest of the group following me.

"I was thinking," I began to tell Michael, speaking softly. "We might be interpreting this wrong. He never said we had to go into the forest, just that we had to cross a river."

"But he also said we couldn't leave the perimeter of the forest," he argued. "Whatever we're supposed to be doing, I know we have to go in there." I sighed, wishing I could find a way out, but I couldn't think straight. Michael was right- I knew we had to actually enter the woods, but how could we send a message from such a long ways away?

We progressed slowly, trooping over hills and through ponds, trying to ignore our growing hunger and stay together. By the time we reached a small herd of cows, we were all desperate enough to kill them with our bare hands, which Ella did immediately. We all scarfed down a raw slab of beef that made me even hungrier than before, and then continued our journey east. Before long, though, rain started to pour down and soak us to the bone. The temperature dropped and I shivered, wishing we had someplace to rest.

After a while longer of journeying through the rain, it started to thunder.

"I think we should find a place to wait the rain out," Robert2 stammered, trembling from the cold and wiping rain from his face. We all agreed, and eventually curled up in a dead-end cave. I tried to get a bit of sleep, but the stone floor was hard and uncomfortable, so I gave up and instead paced the cave entrance, watching for monsters. Ella finally offered to trade places with me, and I let her, but all it did was give me even more time to think about our situation, until I finally reached a sad conclusion.

Herobrine was trying to get rid of us.

**Thanks again for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, and whatnot. I really do love you guys! :D Please review, I really do enjoy them and depend on them to let me know what you think.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi, C6G here! Like usual, I really want to thank everyone who left a review, since those are really helpful and encouraging to me, and if you have anything to say about my story, please write a review!**

**Disclaimer: the Usual**

The next day, we reached the river.

It was a wide river, full of squids and even some chickens. On the other side was a vast forest, stretching in both directions further than I could see. A bridge had already been built across the river, made out of birch wood planks.

"Well, here goes nothing," I shrugged half-heartedly, crossing the bridge and hearing the footsteps of the others following me. On the other side of the bridge was a chest with a torch on each side of it. Ella checked for any signs of it being trapped, but seemed satisfied as she opened it up, then peered inside. She withdrew a leather book with two words carved into the front cover: _From Herobrine_.

"Go on then, read it!" Robert2 begged, staring at the book as if it would speak a message out loud.

"To my final five students. If you are not one of them, return the book and go far away from here. If you are, well, congratulations. You know your cardinal directions. I know the trip was probably long and you might have seen those cows and killed them for food, and that is fine, but please make sure that you have deposited all things inside this chest before entering the forest any further. Your challenge has just begun. Good luck and good day, Herobrine." Ella took a deep breath and shut the book loudly before putting it back in the chest.

"That's it?" Maia cried incredulously. "That can't be it! I thought he would give us some sort of indication, some sort of hint about what to do."

"I know," Michael agreed gravely. "This test is impossible. Herobrine probably is just trying to dump us."

"Yah," Robert2 said. "If we send someone to tell him that we're done, they'll be disqualified and he won't come for us. Then we'll send someone else, thinking the message wasn't received, and eventually we'll all get ourselves kicked out."

"I don't want to make this seem worse than it already seems," I added. "But I think he might be trying to get rid of us. He must know that there's no way around what he said. He did that on purpose." We all stood, congregated around the chest, until Ella broke the silence.

"Seriously, you must all be a _blast_ to hang around, with all this _positive energy_. Just lighten up, guys. We can think of something. But first, we should probably stop wasting the small amount of daylight we have and get to work. I'll go try to hunt down food and meet you guys back here. Get some sort of shelter set up. Someone should go try to get coal, too."

Her sharp words cut the trance. Michael leapt up and volunteered to go mining, and punched down a tree in only a few seconds to make a wooden pickaxe, and then ran off. Ella crafted a simple wooden sword and started out in the opposite direction, leaving me with Maia and Robert2.

"We should probably start building," I suggested as they turned towards me expectantly.

It took us until dusk to cut down enough trees to make a clearing and build a wooden hut big enough for all five of us. By the time we finished, Michael and Ella returned with stone, torches, and some nourishment. All five of us crowded in as night fell, trying to ignore the sounds of monsters only one thin wall away. It was hard to get anything done with such little space, but we managed. Day came quickly and we took advantage of the light to expand the house. Robert2 and I offered to try to find some sheep to make beds.

"I don't think Herobrine is trying to abandon us," Robert2 said as soon as we set off. "Especially you. He likes you, you know." I tried to think of a response, but couldn't, so I settled for trying not to blush and commenting on the lack of sheep. "Did you have any friends before jail?" he asked suddenly.

"Two, mainly. A guy named Justin and my sister Karen. Well, she wasn't actually my sister; it's just what I called her since we lived in the same house."

"I didn't," Robert muttered. "The whole bloody town thought I was insane for wanting to leave, but I never tried to. Finally, this old man called the guards on me and said I was a psychopath that should be thrown in jail, so that's what happened. I never even tried to escape, like the rest of you. I'm a coward. I never had the guts to."

"I don't think you're a coward," I protested. A strange feeling had surged inside at me from hearing how cruel someone's own town could be towards him. "And Herobrine doesn't either. If he did, you wouldn't be here."

Robert shrugged and sighed, staring out in front of us, pretending to watch for sheep, but I knew he was lost in thought.

"There!" I cried, spotting a white animal slowly ambling through the trees. It turned out that there was a whole herd, and we slaughtered all of them mercilessly. "We only have 10 wool," I realized.

We spent the rest of the day hunting for sheep, and before we knew it, the sun was setting. The realization shocked me, but that was not the worst part.

We were completely lost.

**Okay, I really hope this isn't a cliffhanger, or at least too much of one, but the next chapter will (hopefully) be up soon. I've been really tired lately, and I get writer's block when I'm tired, so... Who knows? Thanks again for reading this, it means a lot. :D**


	9. Chapter 9 Part 1

**Hi! Sorry that it's short, I'll post the second part during winter break. Disclaimer: Same as usual.**

Chapter Nine (Part One)

Looking back at it, I'm surprised Robert2 and I didn't die.

Robert2 seemed determined to prove he wasn't a coward, refusing to set up camp for the night and instead sprinting through the forest, barely missing creeper explosions and arrows shot by skeletons lurking behind distant trees. I, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. I took all the arrows and damage for him, stumbling along and trying to yank the sharp projectiles out of my chest and leg.

"Wait up!" I gasped as he swerved around a hill and disappeared out of sight. But it was too late. Even when I reached the hill, I couldn't see him. "Calm down, Eric," I whispered to myself. "I'm sure he'll retrace his steps when he sees that you're missing. In the meantime, just dig a little shelter into that hill and wait until day." And that's exactly what I did. I waited out the night in a tiny hole, and when it was finally light out, I climbed the hill to try and find the wooden hut we had built, but I saw absolutely nothing. No torches, no towers, no huts, and no Robert. It was at that same moment that I realized what it meant.

I was still lost, but now I was completely alone.

**Okay, I'm really sorry! Please review and whatnot. I'll have part two up soon!**


	10. Chapter 9 Part 2

**Here we are, as promised! Posted on the first day off in Winter Break, or at least for my school system (sorry to all who might have already been on winter break before me). I hope it meets all expectations. Sorry if I kept you waiting too long! I had a lot of different plot lines going in completely different directions, and I've finally chosen which way to go with this. I would love to hear any suggestions for the future of this story, since every piece is not set in stone, just a few. :D**

**I really, really appreciate you guys who are still with me. I'm also very thankful for every favorite, follow, and especially review from whoever is currently reading this. I wouldn't be writing this if it weren't for you (okay fine, I would be, I really like writing and I want to finish this idea). Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: the usual. This applies to all future chapters as well.**

Chapter Nine Part Two:

It's an awful mix, loneliness and fear. Together, they grip your stomach and squeeze so tightly you can't even stand up. Your muscles seize up and your skin gets cold. A light rumble came from my stomach. I went back to our small cubby in the mountain, but it no longer seemed like a base. It was another prison cell in yet another prison with yet another captor. But this one had tricked me. He had pretended to be my friend, to be all of our friends. Now, the sharp pang of fear, hunger, and utter resignation settled once more inside of me as I sat once more on a bright red bed and once more stared at the walls, with no food and nothing better to do.

Of course, I could always go after them. If I walked from about the time we left to nightfall, I would be going about the same distance… but we had taken so many twists and turns that I was sure it was impossible to do that. I could search until I dropped dead before finding them. The truth was that I was once again lost and scared and no amount of Herobrine's training could change that.

Still, he did teach me a few things. I managed to get a bit of food in my stomach and even leather boots, but that was it. There was no way I'd go into a cave alone and end up even more lost. Here, there was an incredibly slim chance that Robert could find me.

Doing nothing wasn't accomplishing anything, so I didn't stop at just food and boots. I continued to explore, keeping to the confines of the forest, even though I saw pumpkins only a few blocks away in the nearby plains. I also saw creepers, when it was dark, and in early day. My new bow soon fixed that. A zombie broke down my door and attacked me while I was asleep. I finally explored a small cave and got so much iron that a chestplate joined my boots. The zombies growled at me from the other side of it, but they couldn't break down my new iron door. I smiled and placed my iron sword next to the iron pickaxe, finally falling asleep and dreaming of diamonds and sheep.

After my first caving experience, which involved two skeletons and an extremely reckless creeper, all in a hole in the ground, it was so much easier to set off a second time. I was better protected and had a better sword. I needed a diamond. Then I could find a way to tell Herobrine. After all, how bad could it be?

I cautiously descended into the mouth of the cave, keeping an eye out for ores and monsters at the same time. Unfortunately, I found the latter first. Just my luck, too, that it was a witch. She seemed just as surprised and furious as I did when I ran around the corner, sword in hand, right into her. I did the only thing that came to mind: retreated. The passage was soon blocked off and I started on another branch, cursing loudly at Herobrine's lack of information on witches. I found coal and mined it up, making it into torches for when I ran out. I walked more carefully and started jumping at every noise, even the soft gurgling of water that seemed to surround me. I was shaking, I knew it. The witch had startled me and now my false confidence that I had started with was gone. All I needed was a diamond. All I needed was a diamond. All I needed were five diamonds.

Before I even realized it, my mindset had changed completely. I just needed five diamonds, one for each of us, one for each member of the team I was meant to be with right now. Then I could find them and we could work together to alert Herobrine. He hadn't given up on me. He hadn't given up on us. The sudden surge of strength was enough to fuel me through fighting with the dozens of monsters that infested the caves. Herobrine hadn't given up. He wouldn't give up. He was my friend.

It wasn't much longer before I found a ravine. It was definitely deep enough for diamonds, but there weren't any in sight. In fact, there weren't any ores in sight. Or any branches off the ravine but my own. In some places, I could hear monsters on the other side of the wall or mysterious pockets in the walls shaped like a coal or iron vein, which left me suspicious. My newfound strength died away, leaving me with a strong sense of foreboding. The bad feeling increased when I eventually found an emerald block hidden behind a pillar of lava cascading to the ravine floor.

A certain conversation suddenly sprung to my mind- one between Herobrine and me.

"What's even the point to emeralds these days?" I had asked him. "I mean, the only people who we could have used to trade with have all been brainwashed and put behind walls!"

"You'll see soon," was his reply. It had annoyed me at the time, but now…

What if Herobrine had realized those sheep were there, like he did the cows? What if he had planted them there himself? And, what if he was hoping that we would eventually explore this cave, find the emerald block, and I would remember that exact conversation? The other blocked tunnels must have been for us all. He had given everyone a tip once, that you sometimes need to dig another block or two at the end of a tunnel to make sure it truly is the end. He was testing us in a different way.

But I couldn't be sure. There were too many doubts in my head. But the sight of the emerald block had sparked a bit of curiosity inside of me. It could have been trapped, but I was almost positive that only Herobrine would leave it here for me, behind the lava, after I had cursed lava and promised to never leave it uncovered. He expected me to stay true to the promise and cover up the source, just like I had. It was scary how much he seemed to know me, and rely on my instincts to get to this point. I mined the block and had to jump back in surprise from what I had seen behind it. There was a room, with soft green floors the exact color of grass, a crafting table, a few furnaces, a couple chests, and a bed. With someone sitting on it. In shimmering blue armor. A man with pure white eyes.

"Took you long enough," Herobrine grunted. "I was beginning to think you didn't hate lava as much as you did the day you fell in."

**Okay, next chapter should be up soon now that I'll have more time to write!** **Thanks for reading!**


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